News » Society » 40-day Spring Festival travel rush to start on Jan. 26

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• 40-day Spring Festival travel rush to start on Jan. 26
• Have You Heard…
• China shows why Microsoft is screwed
• Envoy delivers Abe's good wishes letter
• Sex videos net 10 more officials
• Xi discusses isles dispute with Japanese lawmaker
• Yum's chicken suppliers fell off company's radar
• Despair of labor camp victim
• HIV-positive man wins first bias compensation
• Legislator arrested over state-owned assets' sale
• Official nailed over 2b yuan property hoard
• Yum’s chicken in China contained excessive levels of drugs – Xinhua
• Kerry to strengthen Sino-US relations
• China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute
• U.N. to consider validity of China’s claim over disputed islands
• China detaining woman at mortuary
• Apple audit finds under-age workers
• Big rush now under way
• Japan-China in talks to calm row
• China sacks 'sex tape' officials

40-day Spring Festival travel rush to start on Jan. 26 Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:28 AM PST The 40-day Spring Festival travel rush will start on Jan. 26. (Xinhua)

Have You Heard… Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:14 AM PST Have You Heard…

China shows why Microsoft is screwed Posted: 25 Jan 2013 12:21 PM PST THERE been some recent whining from Microsoft about how they get to sell bugger all in China. As opposed to Apple who can't make things fast enough. Some of this is of course because Microsoft sells software, something often ripped off in that lovely country. But there's something else as well: and it's a neat illustration of why Microsoft is, essentially, screwed. China's Internet population surges to 564 million, 75 percent on mobile You don't actually need any more of the story than that, the headline. Ten years ago, heck, five, if you wanted to get online, if you wanted to do any form of computing at all really, you had to use a PC. Sure, you could get the Apple one, you might use a thin client on the company network, but these were fractions of the market. Having "a computer" basically meant sending Redmond the £30 or whatever for Windows and as often as not, another £50 or whatever for Office. Those are the prices the PC makers paid of course, not what you or I would retail. It was a very lovely little monopoly and one that made Bill Gates the richest man in the world for a time. And what would come along and disrupt that lovely, very profitable monopoly? Pretty much nothing really was the thought. No one's going to produce another desktop operating system that everyone will use. There were attempts, of course, but that "everyone will use" thing was the problem. But as we can see from those Chinese numbers, the monopoly has been broken. Windows, Microsoft, hardly registers in the mobile computing world. Yet 75% of the internet access, thus 75% of the computing, is taking place there, without Microsoft. The monopoly's over in other words. It's still pretty much there on desktops, sure, but not in computing any more. Microsoft's position is becoming more like being the monopoly maker of buggy whips just as everyone starts driving cars. Or as the economists would have it: all monopolies fail eventually. Even if compeition doesn't kill them then changing technology will. It's only ever a matter of how long it takes.

Envoy delivers Abe's good wishes letter Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:35 AM PST CHINESE leader Xi Jinping received a letter from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday from a senior Japanese envoy in what was the highest-level contact between the sides since tensions spiked in September over the Diaoyu Islands. The letter sent wishes of good health, spoke of the two countries' "shared responsibility for peace and prosperity" in the region and said that yesterday's meeting was a "valuable opportunity to share views." Xi's meeting with senior lawmaker Natsuo Yamaguchi in Beijing's Great Hall of the People followed four months of rising friction that included mass protests in China and the scrambling of fighter jets by both countries. Yamaguchi is leader of the New Komeito party, the smaller party in Abe's ruling coalition, but not a member of the government. Since the dispute began, both sides have called for dialogue to avoid an armed confrontation, though Japan has rejected China's demand that it acknowledge a sovereignty dispute. For Chinese, the dispute has reawakened bitter memories of Japan's conquest of Chinese territory beginning in 1895 and its brutal World War II occupation of much of the country. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sex videos net 10 more officials Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:34 AM PST A SCANDAL involving Chongqing officials having sex with women hired by developers who secretly videotaped the trysts to extort construction deals has broadened with 10 more officials fired. The officials, almost all of them district-level Party chiefs, directors and executives of state-owned enterprises, have been removed from their posts for allegedly appearing in such videos, municipal authorities said. The announcement late on Thursday ended months of online speculation that a number of local officials had been involved in the case. The scandal emerged in November after a sex video featuring one official later confirmed to be Lei Zhengfu, Party Secretary of the southwestern city's Beibei District, went viral online. Lei, the first of nearly a dozen officials to be implicated in the sex scandal, was removed from his post three days after the scandal was exposed. Police in Chongqing have broken up a criminal ring suspected of using secretly filmed sex videos to blackmail the officials, local authorities said. The Chongqing Commission for Discipline Inspection found that the ring had hired women to seduce local officials, covertly filmed their sexual acts and used the videos to get government contracts. The implication of more officials in the sex scandal in Chongqing has caused a stir on the Internet. "It's all shame and sorrow for senior CPC officials. It's time to take drastic measures to crack down on similar cases and to restore the public's trust of, and support for, government officials," wrote one user on weibo.com. "The sex video, like a powerful nuclear bomb, brought down 10 senior officials from their posts," said another. Some netizens have even jokingly hailed the young women involved the sex scandal as "national heroes" in the fight against corruption. The expansive reach of social media, combined with a disgruntled public that has become increasingly intolerant of corruption, has resulted in multiple exposures and prompted anti-graft authorities to launch investigations. More officials have realized that the Internet is a major channel for public opinion and an important tool in fighting corruption, said Liu Xiaoying, a professor at the Communication University of China.

Xi discusses isles dispute with Japanese lawmaker Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:31 AM PST CHINA and Japan should address "sensitive" issues effectively and in a timely manner, Party chief Xi Jinping said yesterday in a reference to the souring of bilateral relations amid Japan's move to "purchase" part of the Diaoyu Islands last year. Xi made the remarks as he met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the New Komeito party, the smaller of Japan's two ruling parties. "China's stance on the Diaoyu Islands is consistent and clear," Xi said, urging the Japanese side to respect history as well as reality and join with China in seeking effective methods to control and resolve problems through dialogue and consultation. "Only by using history as a mirror can one look into the future," Xi said. He said that both sides should keep the overall situation in mind and stick to the proper path for advancing the China-Japan relationship in a sustained, healthy and stable way. Yamaguchi, who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, is the first senior member of Japan's ruling bloc to travel to China since the Japanese government decided to "purchase" the Diaoyu Islands in September, a move that damaged relations between the two sides. Xi said the Chinese side attached importance to Yamaguchi's visit, as bilateral ties were facing an "unusual" situation. He hoped that the New Komeito party would continue to play a constructive role in the development of the bilateral relationship. The "unprecedented" cooperation seen during the four decades following the normalization of diplomatic relations has driven both countries' development and China remains committed to developing ties with Japan. Xi called on both nations to continue to honor the four documents that have served as "a ballast stone" for stabilizing bilateral relations. The documents - the China-Japan Joint Statement on Comprehensively Advancing Strategic and Reciprocal Relations, the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration - were signed in 1972, 1978, 1998 and 2008, respectively. "Under the new circumstances, we should shoulder national and historical responsibilities as well as display political wisdom, just like the elder generations of leaders of the two countries, to overcome difficulties and advance China-Japan relations," Xi said. Yamaguchi said his party was committed to expanding the friendship between the two nations and agreed both sides should follow the principles established in the four documents. It will work to facilitate exchanges and cooperation between the two countries to resolve problems through dialogue, he said.

Yum's chicken suppliers fell off company's radar Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:22 AM PST FAST food giant Yum Brands Inc, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, lacked supervision over its suppliers and its raw chicken had excess residue of veterinary drugs, authorities said in a report yesterday. Officials said they had established a case to further investigate the suppliers responsible for what the chicken were fed. The report by the Shanghai food safety office comes a month after exposure of the "instant chicken" scandal, where birds were fed chemicals and 18 kinds of antibiotics to keep them alive and speed their growth. An announcement on KFC's website said Yum Brands had destroyed batches of raw chicken suspected of being contaminated with an antiviral medicine, amantadine, which can affect the central nervous system. The food safety office said they had ordered Yum Brands to make a number of changes, including improving testing procedures to prevent problem food entering its stores before test results are known. On January 10, Yum Brands apologized for the scandal and conceded it hadn't reported excessive antibiotics detected in samples to the authorities. It said it had found faults in food testing procedures, and a lack of communication inside the company and with the public. It promised to improve procedures and require suppliers to complete testing before delivering products. It also promised it would strengthen communication with the local government and report problems in time.

Despair of labor camp victim Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:51 AM PST CHEN Qingxia has been confined to a room in a row of houses that used to be a mortuary for more than three years, with posters bearing cries for mercy acting as her only form of communication until her story was reported this week. "My family has been broken up by the labor camp system," said Chen, a resident of the Dailing District of the city of Yichun in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Chen and her family first felt the pain of a labor camp in June 2003, when her husband Song Lisheng was sentenced to one year and nine months in a labor camp for destroying public property. Chen said her husband was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2001 following a dispute with a neighbor. After her husband served his sentence, Chen and her family traveled to Beijing in 2007 to protest at his treatment, as she believed his mental condition should have been considered in when sentence was given. However, more tragedy awaited her in the capital. "Government staff from Yichun separated me from my only son when we traveled to Beijing in 2007 to protest. He is still missing," Chen said. Chen was sentenced to one year and eight months in a labor camp in her home city as punishment for protesting. Although she was permitted to leave the camp around the end of 2008, the local government was not yet ready to truly set her free. They settled her in the house that formerly served as a mortuary, where she has lived ever since. She is monitored by government staff and is not allowed to leave the house, although local officials have given her permission to speak with others following a report by China National Radio on Thursday that detailed her plight. Public criticism of the re-education through labor system has mounted following several recent incidents. Last August, a woman in central China's Hunan Province was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp after demanding tougher penalties for the seven men convicted of abducting, raping and prostituting her 11-year-old daughter. Tang Hui was released within a week following complaints from academics, state media and the public. It was announced at a national political and legal work conference in early January that the government would work to reform the labor camp system this year. The Dailing District government, pressured by mounting public criticism regarding Chen's case, has said it will take care of her out of humanitarian concerns. "The government settled her (in the house) due to medical convenience, as it is located near a welfare house and a hospital," said Xia Jingtao, head of the district government. Xia said the district government had found a new apartment for Chen to live in and was looking for her lost son. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

HIV-positive man wins first bias compensation Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST CHINA has seen its first case of an HIV-positive person being awarded compensation for discrimination on account of his health. Xiao Qi - a pseudonym - has received 45,000 yuan (US$7,230) in compensation from an education bureau accused of disqualifying him from consideration for a teaching post last year after a pre-employment health check found he was HIV-positive. "I was indignant when I learned that I lost the chance to be a teacher, but the compensation I got on Tuesday just illuminates that the law can guarantee our (HIV-positive people's) legal rights," said Xiao. In November 2012, Xiao brought a suit against the education bureau of Jinxian County in east China's Jiangxi Province, over the sudden denial of his application to become a local school teacher. He had passed the teacher qualification examination in June with high scores. Xiao and the county's education bureau reached an agreement in mediation by a local court on December 27. Xiao agreed to drop the suit against the county's education bureau, which would pay him compensation. It is the first case in which an HIV-positive person has gotten compensation in employment discrimination in China, and it is significant, said Cheng Yuan, director of Tianxiagong, an organization that focuses on discrimination against people with disabilities, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. China has an estimated 780,000 people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

Legislator arrested over state-owned assets' sale Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST A lawmaker in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, accused by a pregnant TV anchorwoman of rape and selling national assets, has been arrested, Shuangcheng City officials announced yesterday. Sun Dejiang, a deputy to the National People's Congress and general manager of a state-owned company in Shuangcheng City, abused his power, selling state-owned assets and charging fees from residents to help them forge retirement documents so they could retire early, an initial investigation by the city's Party disciplinary watchdog showed. No further details were released. Sun was accused in November of rape by Wang Dechun, a former anchorwoman with the Shuangcheng TV channel. Wang said Sun used a video of them having sex to force her into a long-term sexual relationship, raped her some 13 years ago when she was seven months pregnant and married, and also improperly sold public assets. She said she made the accusations online because she feared for her safety. She is now divorced. Local authorities said Sun was found to have "improper" sexual relations with several women, according to local news portal, www.dbw.cn, but they did not confirm Wang's account. Wang told the Beijing Times she first met Sun in 1996 during an interview. She got drunk and had sex with Sun. Wang said that in 1999, Sun raped her when she was pregnant. The accusations sparked a probe by the city government and Sun was sacked for "violations in handling state-owned assets" in December.

Official nailed over 2b yuan property hoard Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST A NEIGHBORHOOD community official in the southern city of Shenzhen, accused of hoarding property worth 2 billion yuan (US$321.6 million) and bribery, has been turned over to prosecutors, according to local Party disciplinary watchdog. In an odd twist, the person who blew the whistle on the official also has been accused of economic crimes in what officials call an unrelated case. Zhou Weisi, deputy head of Nanlian Community in Longgang District, abused his power and took large bribes during his term, which severely violated disciplinary rules, according to the website of the Shenzhen Discipline Inspection Commission. Four other officials are also reportedly being investigated. Whistleblower Zhou Zujie on November 25 claimed Zhou Weisi, no relation, had more than 80 houses, villas, factories and mansions, as well as over 20 luxury cars and a high-end hotel, far more than the income of an official would support. Zhou Weisi also was accused of conspiring with real estate firms and profiteering from occupying and selling land illegally through his position for seven years. He was also accused of bribing local officials. Zhou Weisi told Xinhua news agency the accusations are false. He was also vice chairman of a joint-stock company and chairman of another trade and development company, and said his property was accumulated legally by his businesses. Zhou Weisi was suspended from his position on November 27. In a twist, the whistleblower, Zhou Zujie, was caught the same day for alleged economic crimes. He is accused of falsely reported the registered capital for four companies he set up in 2010, according to Xinhua. Zhou Zujie's arrest has triggered a heated online discussion as some netizens said they suspect he was targeted for fingering Zhou Weisi. "His arrest has nothing to do with his exposing Zhou Weisi," a police officer who declined to be named told Xinhua. Zhou Weisi admitted he and his company have more than 10 cars, including Porsche, Mercedez-Benz and BMW vehicles, but he couldn't immediately say how many properties he had. He said he did not have as many as 80 houses. "There are records of all the rental properties in the house rental and management department, and I have paid taxes," he told Xinhua. Zhou Zujie also was accused of having fraudulently claimed property demolition compensation of over 3 million yuan in Guangdong in 2007, police said.

Yum’s chicken in China contained excessive levels of drugs – Xinhua Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:30 AM PST Source: Reuters (Reuters) – Chicken sold to KFC's parent Yum Brands Inc in China contained excessive levels of chemicals, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, escalating a month-long food scare that has hit Yum's sales in its biggest market. The Shanghai Municipal Food Safety Committee said KFC's checks on its suppliers were lax, and that it found excessive levels of chemical residue in some of the fast food chain's supplies, the report said. The investigation has now been passed to authorities where the suppliers are based, Xinhua said, without elaborating. Officials at the Food Safety Committee and Yum in China could not immediately be reached for comment. Yum and McDonald's Corp's have come under intense scrutiny from local media since the official China Central Television reported in late December that some of the chicken supplied to them contained excess amounts of antiviral drugs and hormones used to accelerate growth. On investigating, the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration found the levels of antibiotics and steroids in KFC chicken were safe, though the watchdog found a suspicious level of an antiviral drug in one of the eight samples tested. Yum warned earlier in the month that sales in China – where it earns over half of its worldwide revenue and operating profit – shrank more than expected in the fourth quarter, citing bad publicity from a government review of its chicken supply. Yum has apologized to customers in China over its handling of the food scare. McDonald's Chief Executive Don Thompson said on Wednesday the chicken scare "minimally impacted" McDonald's sales in China during the fourth quarter and continues to hurt business this year.

Kerry to strengthen Sino-US relations Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:33 AM PST Source: By Chen Weihua in Washington (China Daily) US Senator John Kerry, who is expected to replace Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state, says he wants to broaden the relationship with China. Kerry said he envisions that China can play a much more significant role as a partner in any number of efforts globally. "China may be viewed competitors in the market place, but we shouldn't be adversaries in some way that diminishes our ability to cooperate on a number of things," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday during his confirmation hearing. He has chaired the committee since 2009. Kerry said China is cooperating with the US on Iran and there may be more cooperation over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and other parts in East Asia. "There could be more we could do in other parts of the Far East, and hopefully we can build those relationships that will further that transformation. We make progress. It's incremental … It's a tough slog," said the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. The 69-year-old, surrounded by his wife Teresa Heinz and other family members, said China and the US can find a better sense of mutuality of their interests and common goals they can work on. Citing climate change, on which he has been a strong campaigner, Kerry said that China is going to double its emissions and "we got to get these folks into unified efforts". Kerry said he supports the rebalancing policy in Asia which started less than two years ago, describing it as "critical" for the US to strengthen its relationship with China. But he is not convinced that increasing military influence is critical yet, adding that he would look at it more carefully after being confirmed. Kerry told lawmakers that the US has more bases in the region than any other nation, including China. He also acknowledged the concern in China after the US increased the number of marines based in Australia. "The Chinese ask what the United States is doing. They try to encircle us, what's going on and so every action has its reaction," said Kerry, the 69-year-old former Vietnam veteran, who later became an anti-war activist. "We have to think thoughtfully about not creating a threat when there isn't one and understand where we can find bases for cooperation. "I am not talking about retreating, I am simply trying to think about how we do this, not creating the reaction you don't like to create." The US rebalancing policy in Asia has shifted more from the military front to the economic and trade front in the past year. The senator from Massachusetts voiced his support for the Trans Pacific Partnership, which he said would establish greater leverage on the notion of broadly accepted rules. However, China has always been suspicious of US intentions in pushing aggressively for the TPP, of which China and India will not be a part. China, on the other hand, has been supportive of another trade framework known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Kerry pointed out that the US still faces significant challenges in China on intellectual property rights, market access and currency. "China is, you know, the other sort of significant economy in the world and obviously has a voracious appetite for resources around the world, and we need to establish rules of the road that work for everybody," Kerry said. Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, praised Kerry as a good candidate for secretary of state. "He is someone who believes strongly to know well the people you are dealing with, to understand their perspectives and their concerns," he said. Lieberthal heard that privately Kerry feels that politics is the art of possible. "So if you want to understand what can be done, you've got to not only understand what your own interests are, but to understand the interest of the other side," Lieberthal said. "When you understand both of those things, then you can figure out what you can accomplish together. That's very much his style of approaching things. "I would think that bodes well for his being an effective secretary of state as well as in dealing with China, among other issues."

China, Japan move to cool down territorial dispute Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:36 AM PST Source: Reuters By Terril Yue Jones (Reuters) – China and Japan sought to cool down tensions over a chafing territorial dispute on Friday, with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping telling an envoy from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was committed to developing bilateral ties. Xi will consider holding a summit meeting with Abe, Natsuo Yamaguchi, a senior lawmaker and head of the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition, told reporters after his talks with the Chinese leader. The meeting came as China took the dispute over a series of uninhabited islands to the United Nations. It was not immediately clear if the U.N. involvement would increase the likelihood the row would be resolved peacefully. But launching an international legal process could reduce the temperature for now. At China's request, the United Nations will, later this year, consider the scientific validity of a claim by Beijing that the islands, called the Diaoyu in Chinese and the Senkaku by Japan, are part of its territory. Japan says the world body should not be involved. "The China government's policy to pay close attention to China-Japan relations has not changed," Xi told Yamaguchi at the meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry's website. But he added: "The Japanese side ought to face up to history and reality, take practical steps and work hard with China to find an effective way to appropriately resolve and manage the issue via dialogue and consultations." China's media have portrayed the territorial dispute as an emotional touchpoint for Chinese people that evokes memories of Japan's 1931-1945 occupation of parts of the mainland. Chinese textbooks, television and films are full of portrayals vilifying the Japanese. Relations between the countries, the world's second- and third-largest economies, plunged after the Japanese government bought three of the islands from a private owner last year, sparking widespread, violent anti-Japan protests across China. Some Japanese businesses were looted and Japanese citizens attacked. Yamaguchi handed a letter from to Xi from Abe, who wrote that he hoped to develop peaceful relations between the two countries, Yamaguchi said. BROAD VIEW Japan takes a broad view of the issue and believes tensions can be resolved between the two countries, he told reporters before returning to Tokyo after a four-day visit. "Japan wishes to pursue ties with China while looking at the big picture," Yamaguchi said he told Xi, who is set to take over as China's president in March. "I firmly believe our differences with China can be resolved," Yamaguchi said, adding that he did not directly discuss the islands issue with Xi. "We agreed that it is important to continue dialogue with the aim of holding a Japan-China summit between the two leaders," he added, though no specific details were given. "Secretary Xi said he will seriously consider a high-level dialogue with Japan." While Yamaguchi has no formal position in the government, he is leader of relatively dovish New Komeito party, a coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party that was voted to power in December. Taking the issue to the United Nations is an effort to underscore China's legal claim to the islands, but also a way to reduce tensions in the region, said Ruan Zongze, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies, a think-tank affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "It's two things: it's part of the legal efforts, and we want to exert our legal claim in a less confrontational way," Ruan said. "We don't want to see escalation, particularly with fighter jets. That would be very dangerous from any point of view." In a submission to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, China claims that the continental shelf in the East China Sea is a natural prolongation of China's land territory and that it includes the disputed islands. Under the U.N. convention, a country can extend its 200-nautical-mile economic zone if it can prove that the continental shelf is a natural extension of its land mass. The U.N. commission assesses the scientific validity of claims, but any disputes have to be resolved between states, not by the commission.

U.N. to consider validity of China’s claim over disputed islands Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Source: Reuters By Michelle Nichols (Reuters) – The United Nations is planning to consider later this year the scientific validity of a claim by China that a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea are part of its territory, although Japan says the world body should not be involved. Tensions over the uninhabited islands – located near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge oil-and-gas reserves – flared after Japan's government purchased them from a private Japanese owner in September, sparking violent anti-Japanese protests across China and a military standoff. Taiwan also claims the islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in China, the Senkaku islands in Japan and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan. In a submission to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, China claims that the continental shelf in the East China Sea is a natural prolongation of China's land territory and that it includes the disputed islands. Under the U.N. convention, a country can extend its 200-nautical-mile economic zone if it can prove that the continental shelf is a natural extension of its land mass. The U.N. commission assesses the scientific validity of claims, but any disputes have to be resolved between states, not by the commission. China said the "Diaoyu Dao upfold zone" – the islands – is located between the East China Sea shelf basin and the Okinawa Trough. "The Okinawa Trough is the natural termination of the continental shelf of (the East China Sea)," it said. China also told the commission that it was still negotiating with other states on the delimitation of the continental shelf. "Recommendations of the commission with regard to the submission will not prejudice future delimitation of the continental shelf between China and the states concerned," said the executive summary of China's submission published on the commission's website. 'NO DOUBT' The commission said consideration of China's claim would be included in the provisional agenda of a meeting of the body due to be held in New York from July 15 to August 30. In a letter to the commission, Japan's U.N. mission argued that China's submission should not be considered. "There is no doubt that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of the territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based upon international law. The Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan," it said. The islands were put under Japan's control in 1895 and were part of the post-World War Two U.S. military occupation zone from 1945-72. They were then returned to Tokyo by U.S. authorities in a decision China and Taiwan later contested. China responded to Japan's letter by calling Tokyo's claim to the islands "illegal and invalid." "Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands have been inherent territory of China since ancient times," its U.N. mission said in a letter. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan in September to let "cool heads" prevail in the dispute, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. After Japan's purchase of the islands, protests in China saw some Japanese businesses looted, Japanese citizens attacked and auto and other Japanese manufacturers reported considerably lower sales in the country. More recently, Japanese military planes have scrambled numerous times against Chinese planes approaching airspace over the islands. Chinese planes have also been launched to shadow Japanese planes elsewhere over the East China Sea. Patrol vessels from the two countries have also played a tense game of cat-and-mouse in the waters near the disputed islands.

China detaining woman at mortuary Posted: 25 Jan 2013 06:27 AM PST A Chinese woman who complained about the treatment of her husband at a labour camp has been held at a mortuary for three years, state media report.

Apple audit finds under-age workers Posted: 25 Jan 2013 03:48 AM PST A supply audit carried out by Apple finds 74 under-age workers were sent to one of its factories by an agency.

Big rush now under way Posted: 25 Jan 2013 02:46 AM PST A migrant worker hurries toward his train in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province today. China's annual Spring Festival travel rush will kick off tomorrow and last for 40 days. About 3.4 billion people are expected to travel during the period, up 8.6 percent from a year ago. The railway network alone will handle 22.5 billion passengers, an increase of 4.6 percent. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Japan-China in talks to calm row Posted: 24 Jan 2013 11:37 PM PST An envoy for Japanese PM Shinzo Abe meets China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, amid a growing territorial dispute.

China sacks 'sex tape' officials Posted: 25 Jan 2013 12:17 AM PST Ten officials in the Chinese city of Chongqing are sacked as part of a widening investigation into a sex video extortion scandal.

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